Celebrimbor
Celebrimbor is a Noldor elf, grandson and last living descendant of Fëanor, and Lord of Eregion. His name means "silver fist" or "Hand of silver" in Sindarin (Telperinquar in Quenya, Telperimpar in Telerin). Celebrimbor is a master smith, famed amongst his people, who was ultimately manipulated by Sauron into forging the Rings of Power, setting in motion the events of The Lord of the Rings. Background Celebrimbor was a Noldorin prince, last of the House of Fëanor left in Middle-earth, ruler of the Second Age realm of Eregion, and the forger of the Rings of Power. He was the son of Curufin, fifth son of Fëanor and Nerdanel. First Age Celebrimbor was the son of Curufin, fifth son of Fëanor (son of Finwë and his first wife Míriel) and Nerdanel, and the only known grandchild of Fëanor. It is not known where or when Celebrimbor was born. Since Celebrimbor was not mentioned as being present during the Oath of Fëanor, and is first mentioned as living in Nargothrond, it is likely that he was born after the exile of the Noldor, in Middle-earth. Little is said of his deeds during the First Age. He probably fled to Nargothrond after the Dagor Bragollach. However, he took no part in the deeds of Curufin and Celegorm regarding Lúthien, Beren, and Finrod. He even repudiated his father and uncle's deeds and did not follow them when the two brothers were expelled from Nargothrond. Celebrimbor survived the First Age, but probably was forced due to the Doom of Mandos — or perhaps freely elected — to remain in Middle-earth rather than return to Valinor. Second Age During the Second Age, Celebrimbor lived in the Elvish realm of Eregion and founded a brotherhood of jewel-smiths, the Gwaith-i-Mírdain (lit, "People of the Jewel Smiths"). Dwarf-friend From the early days of Eregion (founded circa ), Celebrimbor fostered the relationship with Khazad-dûm, the neighbouring Dwarf-kingdom. He became close friends with Narvi, a great Dwarf-craftswoman, and together made the Doors of Durin at the West-gate of Khazad-dûm. Celebrimbor's special contribution was the inscriptions on the gateway; these inscriptions were wrought of ithildin. It is likely Narvi became his wife by Dwarf law after this, due to the reveal him being her One. Ring-maker In SA 1200, a person naming himself "Annatar" ("Lord of Gifts") arrived in Eregion, but in fact he was the Dark Lord Sauron in disguise. He appeared to be one of the Vanyar, the fairest race of Elves, and claimed he had been sent by the Valar, especially Aulë, to share his wisdom and skills in ring-craft and jewelry for the benefit of all Middle-earth. He presented Celebrimbor with an exquisitely crafted mithril hammer, much to Celebrimbor's amazement and gratitude, saying to Annatar that "it is so fine a gift." Annatar then took control of the Eregion smiths and, side by side with Celebrimbor, instructed them to craft a set of rings, which would eventually become the Rings of Power. Annatar provided valuable and seemingly benevolent guidance and instruction to Celebrimbor and the smiths of Eregion, and in about SA 1500 they began making Rings of Power for the rulers of Middle-earth — seven to the Dwarf-lords and nine to Men. Under the guidance and instruction of Sauron, the smiths openly made rings to learn the craft, but unknown to them the craft taught by Sauron incorporated a binding magic into the rings. However, without Sauron's knowledge, Celebrimbor also secretly forged three rings for the Elves, the greatest and fairest of the Rings of Power (completing them circa 1590). The Three Rings were thus free of Sauron's corrupting influence. Celebrimbor named the rings Vilya, Narya, and Nenya after the principal Middle-earth elements of air, fire, and water, respectively. At the same time, Sauron was also secretly forging a ring: the One Ring which would enable him to rule Middle-earth. In S.A. 1600 Sauron reassumed his role as the Dark Lord and placed the One Ring on his finger, claiming dominance over all the Rings of Power and their bearers. Before this, Celebrimbor had believed Sauron to be what he had claimed to be, but realising the truth he and the Elves of Eregion defied Sauron by withholding the other rings from him. He had already sent the three rings away for safekeeping: Vilya and Narya to Gil-galad in Lindon, and Nenya to Galadriel in Lothlórien, but Sauron underestimated their spiritual strength and they became aware of his attempt to mentally enthrall them through their rings and ceased to wear them. With his scheme exposed to at least the elves, and unable to lay his hands on the Three, Sauron retaliated by attacking Eregion in S.A. 1693, initiating the War of the Elves and Sauron and laying waste to the realm. In the midst of the ensuing battle, Celebrimbor was able to decieve Sauron as to the location of the the Three, and in the confusion, the elf smith took the One as his own and used it to raise an army of Uruks, with the ultimate goal of destroying Sauron and avenging his wife, whom he thought slain. Celebrimbor was successful in this, and eventually came to battle with Sauron himself, who revealed that Celebrimbor's wife were still very much alive. Enraged, Celebrimbor used the power of the Ring to teleport through the battlefield and confront Sauron directly, where he was able to knock the Dark Lord down. As he raised his sword to deliver the killing blow however, the Ring, recognizing that its true master was in peril, slipped from Celebrimbor's finger and returned to Sauron. With this, Celebrimbor fell to his knees and dropped his sword, accepting defeat. He was then chained and forced to march to Mordor, where he was put under extreme torment until he disclosed where the Nine and the Seven were held, but he would not reveal the whereabouts of the three Elvish rings. Sauron captured the lesser rings and used them as instruments of evil in later years, particularly against Men. Celebrimbor, the last direct descendant of the line of Fëanor, died from his torment in S.A. 1697, being brutally beaten to death by "Annatar" with his own mithril hammer. After this, Celebrimbor's body was desecrated by Sauron's orcs, who shot his corpse with arrows and hung him upon a pole and paraded as a banner as Sauron attacked the elves in the War of Sauron and the Elves. The news of what happened to her One caused old Narvi to collapse dead of grief and horror. This final abomination caused Celebrimbor to become a Wraith, a spirit of vengeance, forsaking the Halls of Mandos and dooming himself to an eternity in Mordor until the One Ring was destroyed. Skills and Abilities Due to Celebrimbor's Elvish heritage, he is very skilled with his bow Azkâr, which he used while he was alive and continues to do so after his death, as a Wraith. As a Wraith, Celebrimbor does not use arrows of conventional physical materials, but instead conjures insubstantial glowing blue arrows of Wraith-magic. These arrows can be magically set aflame by Celebrimbor, or used to pin his enemies' legs to the ground. As well as being skilled with a bow, Celebrimbor is seen to be skillful with a sword, being able to cut through swarms of Uruks with little effort. Celebrimbor is also capable of performing a number of acrobatic feats. He can climb large structures in a relatively short amount of time, and with little effort. This speed is aided by his Wraith abilities to allow him to move quicker. Due to his status of being a Wraith, Celebrimbor has gained a multitude of abilities. Some such abilities include the ability to move fast as shadow and to control the minds of others. The Wraith himself is bound to Mordor until the One Ring or Sauron is unmade. Not only is Celebrimbor efficient in the art of combat and in the use of Wraith abilities but he is also a highly skilled smith, possibly the greatest smith in all of Arda's history with at least three of the Rings of Power (the Elven rings) being crafted by him. Trivia *The name Celebrimbor means "silver-fist" or "Hand of silver" in Sindarin, translated from Quenyan father-name; Telperinquar. Category:Elves Category:High Elves Category:Noldor